Astros' Verlander set for first start of season

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night at the Washington Nationals.

“Getting him back is huge because it brings a level of confidence to our team, a boost of confidence that we're going to get someone who's been an MVP, a Cy Young (winner) on the mound,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “It's (good) for the morale and to get stuff started and moving in the right direction.”

The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder. He made two rehabilitation starts, the first for Triple-A Sugar Land on April 7 before Saturday's start for Double-A Corpus Christi.

Espada wouldn't say how many pitches the 41-year-old would be limited to but said they'll keep an eye on his workload.

“We've got to be careful how hard we push him early,” Espada said. “I know he's going to want to go and stay out there and give us an opportunity to win, but we've got to be cautious of how hard we push him early in the season.”

Verlander wasn't thrilled with the results in his rehabilitation starts, but he said Monday that those games were valuable in getting him prepared to come off the IL.

He allowed seven hits and six runs — five earned — in four innings against Frisco on Saturday. He struck out three, walked one and threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes.

Verlander allowed six earned runs and struck out six while pitching into the fourth inning for Sugar Land on April 7.

The Astros have gotten off to a tough start with Verlander and fellow starters Framber Valdez and José Urquidy on the injured list.

Espada hopes Verlander can be the boost the team needs to get on track.

“It's good to get him back in the rotation,” Espada said. “With what he means to this club just to get him back on track, getting some innings from him (to) build our rotation with the pieces that we need to move forward is exciting.”

Padres starting pitcher Darvish lands on injured list

The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Yu Darvish on the 15day injured list with neck tightness.

Darvish, 37, is 0-1 with a 4.18 ERA in five starts. He didn't get a decision in his last outing, giving up three runs in five innings in a 6-3 win Sunday over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

He had been scheduled to start Saturday in San Diego against the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 2023, Darvish spent no time on the injured list. He was 8-10 with a 4.56 ERA in 24 starts for the Padres.